Well not seen a thread on this so far so wondered what you all think about the team for Saturday? Who would you pick? Well away to Forest i think we need to not go all out, it is clear we can't go all out agaisnt a team like them, so my team goes as follows.... Mannone Rosenior - Gerrard(Hobbs if not fit) - Chester - Dawson Mclean - Harper - Evans - Koren - Amoo Fryatt If we go 1-0 down we switch to 442, and in second half go straight to 442, just try and frustrate Forest to start with, and try putting pressure on them from the front with Amoo and Mclean given a license to get forward. What would your side be?
Mannone Rosenior Chester Gerrard Dawson Amoo Evans Hobbs Koren Fryatt Simpson Hobbs would be a risk but I'm tempted to say he may be the best we've got. Harper I don't hate one rate and Cairney I'm not sure about in this game.
I'd go with this too, but I reckon it will be Harper for Cairney and Mclean for Simpson and possibly Hobbs for Gerrard(forced). Disappointing, as from what we've seen recently, neither Harper nor Mclean posses the quality to trouble a team like Forest.
I know we need a win but five attacking players in the midfield and attack? Come on really? How on earth would that work.....
Mannone Rosy Gerrard (Hobbs) Chester Daws Devitt Koren Evans Amoo Mclean Fryatt Amoo can play both flanks so would have him on the left and Devitt on the right for a better balance. Harper isn't fit at the moment in my opinion and I hope he doesn't play, if he was fit I would have him in ahead of Evans as holding midfielder, otherwise we look lightweight. 3-1 City.
One change, Amoo for Mclean. Cairney would give us more creativity in midfield but we need Harper to hold the midfield together against a very talented Forest team. Koren better out wide
This made me laugh 'Cairney would give us more creativity' in every game I've watched I don't remember seeing him pass the ball forwards once, he always goes sideways/backwards and the move slows down.
we lack a Windass, a Brabin, dare I say it a younger Ash in the centre.. NP knows this surely, it will be put right in the summer.. I don't doubt the quality of these lads (Harper is beginning to nag me.. Mclean hard-working but as said not budding PL standard) but we lack steel in the middle. Cairney isn't built like a brick ****house neither is Evans, if anything Evans is more inclined to go forward than Tom. Olofinjana isn't really a stopper, he even sees himseflf as more of an 'artist' who likes to 'play nice football' I remember him saying at his press conf. when he joined.. Belaid isn't a ball winner either.. Garcia isn't a centre midfielder.. Players like Walton & Lewis have been drafted in to do this job in the past but weren't up to it.. Then Ryan France & Richard Hughes did OK in the L1/CCC.. but wouldn't get in there now.. Boateng was a warrier but ageing and playing in a sinking ship of a side.. So the question remains, can this side reach the play-offs? Manonne Rosenior Chester Hobbs Dawson Amoo Harper Evans Koren Fryatt Simpson
The lack of real options in midfield is a concern. However, I would definitely start McClean up front with Fryatt simply because his work rate is phenomenal. He can hassle defenders all day and then bring Simpson off the bench to add something different to our attack.
The same way as a front 5 of... Houghton Henderson Waggy Chillo Butler Unfortunately managers don't have the balls any more and it's all about clean sheets.
Managers don't have the balls anymore as they have learnt how to counter this, football has moved on, tactics have become far mopre modern and it is now to easy to counter such systems like that. However much i would love to see us play great attacking football like that, until we have an amazing side such as United or Madrid we will never play like that and i doubt that will be for some time.
Based on Shakeys comments, it sounds like Amoo won't start, but will come on from the bench(though it may just be smoke and mirrors).
This side would do for me, it's very attack-minded but does leave us lightweight in the middle of the park. We're pretty much safe from relegation so why not just go for it? At least we'd have fun watching them have a go!
